‘The Crucible’ opens at Newton Community Theatre

Rife with metaphors critiquing McCarthyism, Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” stands out as those of those quintessential theater dramas that begs its audience to think about its content and its implications and how they pertain to the modern day world.

Newton Community Theatre’s production of the iconic play still has those real-life parallels in its execution and remains as relevant, or “speaks to today” as co-director Zach Bey put it. But one need only turn on the television or open a newspaper (or, perhaps, scroll through a social media feed) to understand the similarities of metaphor the 66-year-old drama conveys.

“It’s a play about how we relate to each other and how we spend our time trying to prove the demons of others,” Bey told the Newton Daily News Thursday. “Ultimately I think the message of the play is trying to find the demons in others is ultimately self defeating.”

Set during the Puritan-era, “The Crucible” is a dramatized retelling of the Salem witch trials, in which several people were accused of witchcraft and executed. The playwright likened the event of mass hysteria to that of former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., and the accusations of treason without evidence based on what he perceived as Communist influence.

Bey claimed society’s interest in trying to “prove the demons of others” is seen in churches and politics, among other areas. In today’s world, Bey said humankind “does not like to talk to each other about difficult things” and “does not like to see humanity in somebody that disagrees with us.”

He added, “Instead, we want to ‘hang the witches’ so we can build a society without witches. And I think this is one of the messages of the show and of Arthur Miller’s script is the very act of trying to dispose or destroy all the witches is an act of witchcraft itself.”

These are the kinds of dramas Bey likes to see onstage: plays that drive critical thinking and a bit of discussion long after the cast takes its final bow. It is one of the things he loves about theater.

“I’ve done a lot of comedies, and I love comedies (but) I also love the dramas that force you and really encourage you to think about things and make you wrestle with your own conscious, your own self,” Bey said. “And I think this does that. And I think it’s one of the reasons I was drawn to the play.”

As was his fellow co-director Jeff Carter, who also noted relevant comparisons with the play and real-life events. Carter referenced one particular line from a judge character (“…you’re either with this court…”) echoes a quote from former President George W. Bush, “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”

These kinds of comparisons and metaphors, he claimed, do not go away.

“These tendencies to see the world in such stark terms, us versus them, and to be so afraid of anybody who would not be falling in line and ready to reap them out, expecting them as an enemy,” Carter said. “These issues don’t go away.”

If anything, “The Crucible” certainly knows how to drive discussion. Directing the show, Carter said, has been exciting, partly because he had a theater class in high school in which students were assigned scenes from plays. Coincidentally, he found the copy of the script he used for the class, inscribed notes and all.

“It’s interesting what I wrote then,” Carter said. “It’s fun to revisit it myself just for my own nostalgia.”

Carter said his and Bey’s goal as directors was to have the play speak for itself, rather than hit the audience over the head with metaphors.

“Arthur Miller is respected, and rightly so. His works have stood against time. It didn’t need a lot from us to prop it up,” he said. “The play should be able to stand on its own, and we think that it has. The script is solid and the actors do a good job with it. We don’t need to be really heavy-handed about putting our own thoughts and spin on it,” Carter said.

“The Crucible” opens 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Newton Community Theatre.

Shows continue at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Other showings begin at 7:30 p.m. June 6-8. Call 641-792-1230 or visit the box office at 1701 S. Eighth Ave. E. to reserve tickets.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com